Although it has been only 29 days since President Barack Obama took the presidential oath in front of millions, political experts at Harvard Kennedy School of Government wonder how long his political ‘honeymoon’ will last.
‘Honeymoon’ was the buzzword Tuesday at the brown-bag lunch discussion, where Norman Ornstein, an American Enterprise Institute political scientist, spoke to about 35 attendees on the duration of Obama’s honeymoon and how it compares to previous administrations.
In the political arena, a honeymoon is not a vacation to celebrate newlywed bliss.’ Rather, it alludes to the short period of time after inauguration during which the opposition party abstains from attack, Congress cooperates and public approval is still high.
‘The honeymoon is a little bit like Madonna and Guy Ritchie: an interesting few months,’ Ornstein, a contributing writer for The Washington Post, said.
Obama has had great success thus far, Ornstein, who studies American politics, said.’ Obama ‘will come out a winner’ despite recent problems with cabinet appointees and the current economic climate, he said.
John Reidy, an advisory board member for the Joan Shorenstein Center on Press, Politics and Public Policy, a research center at HKS, said Ornstein’s discussion was well informed and comprehensive, but he thinks the honeymoon period is waning.
‘The survival instinct is at play here,’ Reidy said.’ ‘I think there will be some legal proposals that are going to be less party decisive.’ [Obama] is going to be coming back for more money, and we’ll see how everyone reacts.’
Victoria Phillips, a Harvard mid-career program student, said she did not agree with Ornstein’s opinions in his discussion.
‘I think the honeymoon is over,’ Phillips said. ‘ [Obama] has got impossibly difficult tasks ahead of him.’
Phillips was one of few students who attended the discussion, which was mostly made up of professors and members of the Harvard community. HKS Fellows and Program Director Edith Holway said this was unusual.
Holway organizes weekly lunchtime chats, like Ornstein’s, at the Joan Shorenstein Center to expose students to noteworthy journalists and policy-makers, she said.
‘We try to get people who are in the news or people who are of interest to students,’ Holway said.
Maralee Schwartz, a Shorenstein Center fellow, said she was also surprised at the small student turnout.
‘I figured that students would know who Norman Ornstein is, but I guess not,’ Schwartz said.’ ‘He’s quoted by The Washington Post and CNN all the time, but he probably isn’t quoted on the blogs that students are reading.’
Schwartz, who was also a political editor for The Washington Post, said she is unsure about the Obama honeymoon.
‘I’m not a big believer in the honeymoon,’ Schwartz said.’ ‘But, the truth is, the American public is still with him, and that’s the only honeymoon he has to care about.’
Public approval is a major factor in the duration of political honeymoons, Ornstein said. He pointed out that according to a poll released early Tuesday morning by Rasmussen Reports, 61 percent of voters said they at least somewhat approve of Obama’s performance.’
Ornstein said Obama’s ratings are a continuation of the wave of hope that has yet to break since Obama began his campaign.
‘It’s obvious that we’re riding this enormous desire for change,’ Ornstein said.
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